Tim Collard is a retired British diplomat who spent most of his career in China and Germany. He is an active member of the Labour Party.

The aviation crisis: how very British. And how very typical of Ryanair

As was entirely predictable, it’s now emerging that we might have been a bit over-cautious in grounding all planes for a week. We usually are. Of course it’s true that a single ash-related crash would have been unacceptable; but how likely was it in reality? For some people it will be just one more item to be added to the Government’s extensive charge sheet, but some of these people blame Gordon Brown every time they miss a bus. I just wonder how genuinely scientific the risk assessment was, and to what extent greedy and irresponsible insurers were involved. Somehow we always seem to have the lamest and most restrictive response to this sort of problem, just like we insist on “gold-plating” all the most obstructive EU directives, and just like it costs more than 100 times as much as anywhere else in Europe to defend a libel action against some greedy pompous fascist.

Any time there’s an aviation drama, you can always rely on the appearance of Michael O’Leary as pantomime villain. Now, I have no real problem with Ryanair: the deal is pretty clear. You pay peanuts, and they usually get you there or thereabouts. And, if something goes wrong, you’re stuffed. If you want a bit more mollycoddling, you have to pay a bit more.

But his declared refusal to abide by European legislation on looking after stranded passengers is a step too far. You pay no-frills prices, you put up with no-frills service: fine. But, equally, if you run an airline in Europe, you put up with European aviation laws. You can’t say, as O’Leary has, “the laws weren’t designed for these circumstances”. Everyone understands that you’re just saying “the law is there to ensure that money goes into Michael O’Leary’s pockets, not out of them”. Sorry mate, but we all have to accept the consequences of Acts of God, and you’re not exempt. If O’Leary really takes this to the wire, someone is going to have to close him down for a few months, with full compensation to those who have already booked.